Shaman kept woman in cave for 15 years, raped her: police

By Siobhán O'Grady

The girl was only 13 when she disappeared. Her parents had taken her to a shaman near their home in rural Indonesia for treatment and left her with him, but she never came back.

The shaman told them that she had gone to the Indonesian capital, Jakarta, to find work. They never heard from her again.

The woman, identified as "HS" and the cave in which she was kept.Credit:Indonesian National Police

But this week, 15 years after her disappearance, the woman, now 28 - whom authorities are calling only "HS" - was found near the shaman's home in a cave near Galumpang village, Tolitoli regency, in Central Sulawesi province.

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The shaman, named Jago, 83, had allegedly kept her there for the entire time, raping her and convincing her that he was possessed by a jinn, or spirit.

The police rescued the woman on Sunday, after receiving a tip, The Jakarta Post reported.

Muhammad Iqbal Alqudusy, the police chief of Central Sulawesi, said the shaman told HS that he was possessed by the spirit of a boy named Amrin, Reuters reported.

He showed her a photo of Amrin and brainwashed her into believing that he was her boyfriend.

"She was led to believe that Amrin's spirit had entered [the shaman's] body," the police chief said at a news conference. "It is obvious that he was satisfying his lust."

HS would apparently sit hidden in a cave of boulders during the day and stay overnight in a hut close to the shaman's house.

According to The Jakarta Post, the elderly man also told police that he had provided HS potions to terminate multiple pregnancies over the years.

The shaman faces up to 15 years in prison if convicted of coercing a minor into intercourse and may face other charges, as well.

Police may also be investigating whether HS's sister knew of her whereabouts all along. The Jakarta Post reported that the sister was married to the witch doctor's son and may have had a role in the tip-off.

Magdalena Sitorus, who heads Indonesia's National Commission on Violence Against Women, told the newspaper that her organisation had not yet been asked to work on the case. But she warned that HS might not have been the only victim.

"Since the perpetrator was well-respected in the village, there is a possibility that there are other victims that have not yet come forward because they are afraid," Sitorus said.